RECALLING
THE WALLED CITY OF KOWLOON
The walled city of Kowloon was once a Chinese military fort. The walled city then became an enclave after the New Territories were leased to the UK by China in 1898. It was then demolish in January 1987. Let's have a recall to this unique place in Hong Kong
KOWLOON
INTRODUCTION
Kowloon encompasses the northern part of Hong Kong, on the mainland across Victoria Harbour. Once a separate city, it was acquired by Britain in 1860 and returned to China with the rest of the colony in 1997. It’s now a shopping, arts and entertainment district. Stores line Nathan Road, while traditional markets offer goods from flowers and goldfish to clothes and jade
THE WALLED CITY
INTRODUCTION
The Walled City was originally a small fort built during the Song dynasty (960-1279). It then sat untouched for hundreds of years and was later converted into a military outpost with a defensive wall. During WWII, the area was occupied by Japanese forces. They dismantled the defensive wall and used the materials to expand a nearby airport. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, people started moving back into the Walled City. There were 2,000 squatters living there by 1947. They included refugees and people attracted by the lack of laws.The city eventually had 300 interconnected, high-rise buildings that had been constructed room-by-room without the help of architects or building codes.
(Based on https://unbelievable-facts.com/2018/02/facts-about-kowloon-walled-city.html)
VIDEO OF THE CITY
From the video, we can see that the roads are full of rubbish and rats running around and as there's no electricity, the lowest level barely has any lights, this can cause severe physical and mental health problems which brings danger not just to the citizen in Kowloon walled city but also can risk the lives of other people by spreading illnesses just like Covid-19.
IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND ABIDING BUILDING LAW
SPACE CAN BE ENOUGH TO FIT ALL PEOPLE
BY ABIDING BUILD LAWS, THE SPACES WILL NOT BE SO SMALL AND SQUEZZY FOR THE PEOPLE TO SURVIVE. BUILDING LAWS CAN HELP IN ENSURING THE SPACE IS ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE TO LIVE COZILY AND ALSO ENSURE THERE'S ENOUGH PRIVATE SPACE FOR EACH PERSON.
AVOID MENTAL ILLNESSES
MENTAL ILLNESS SUCH AS CLAUSTROPHOBIA WHICH IS THE IRRITATIONAL FEAR OF CONFINED SPACES CAN OCCUR IF A PERSON LIVES IN A SMALL SPACE FOR A LONG TERM. IT WILL CAUSE THE PERSON TO FEEL STRESS AND DEPRESS AS THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FRESH AIR FOR HIM TO BREATH. THEREFORE, THE KNOWLEDGE OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS TO AVOID THESE FROM HAPPENING AS IT CAN HELP IN MANAGING THE SPACE ARRANGEMENTS.
AVOID VIRUSES FROM SPREADING EASILY
SPACE ARRANGEMENT KNOWLEDGES IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM GETTING VIRUSES EASILY AS IT CAN LET THE PEOPLE TO KEEP A CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER. A LARGER SPACE LOWER THE CHANCES FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE CONTACT WITH SPREADING OF VIRUS AND ALSO SPACE ARRANGEMENT CAN ARRANGE SPACES FOR RUBBISH COLLECTING TO AVOID RATS RUNNING ALL AROUND.
SCENE THAT HAVE GAVE ME IMPACT